sinovels Chapter 1840 Ginseng Dealer's Secret Auction: Zhao Jun to Make an Offer
Chapter 1840 Ginseng Dealer's Secret Auction: Zhao Jun to Make an Offer
Chapter 1840 Ginseng Dealer's Secret Auction: Zhao Jun to Make an Offer
Hearing that a ginseng dealer surnamed Xu had been robbed, the ginseng leaders and dealers gathered here were inevitably a little scared.
They come to the meeting, some bringing money, some bringing research materials. If someone tries to take advantage of that, anyone would be upset.
This delay pushed the Ginseng King Conference back by almost an hour.
During that hour, Zhao Jun not only heard about Boss Xu's robbery, but also learned that Boss Xu's name was Xu Qianli and that he was from Jingyu County, Jilin Province.
Jingyu County is also one of the main production areas of wild ginseng in Jilin Province. There is a place in the county called Babaolanzi, which is well-known in the ginseng industry.
Legend has it that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, war broke out everywhere. Sun Liang, the founder of the Fangshanxing sect, risked his life to travel to Northeast China to collect ginseng in Changbai Mountain in order to cure his mother's illness and make a living.
At that time, Jingyu County was called Mengjiang. After Sun Liang arrived in Mengjiang, he discovered a large area of ginseng fruit in the mountains and forests, and then carried out eight wild ginseng seedlings.
Those eight wild ginseng seedlings all weighed more than eight taels according to the old system.
As the saying goes, "Seven ounces is ginseng, eight ounces is treasure." These eight wild ginseng seedlings were all considered treasures, so the local area was renamed Babaolanzi (Eight Treasures Field).
The place name has remained to this day, and mountain herders have often lingered in that area for many years.
Xu Qianli's home is not far from Babaolanzi; his home is in Naerhong Forest Farm, Naerhong Town.
This forest farm was only established in 1985, and although it hasn't been operating for very long, its ecological environment is well preserved.
After the medicine was applied to the wounds on Xu Qianli's face, he gradually calmed down.
Therefore, the Ginseng King Conference, which had already been delayed by nearly forty minutes, continued.
As the host, Wu Baoguo walked to the center of the crowd and said loudly, "Dear bosses, leaders, and colleagues, we are gathered here today to hold the 7th Ginseng King Conference."
Over the years, our Ginseng King Conference has not only enhanced exchanges within the industry but also promoted communication with the outside world.
Today, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Hu, Mr. Xu, and three Mr. Songs are all here. On behalf of all the hikers present, I'd like to make a statement first.
We can communicate effectively, and even if a deal falls through, we can maintain good relations. But if a deal is made, it must be mutually beneficial. We, the mountain travelers, would never do anything like offering inferior goods or passing off substandard products.
After saying this, Wu Baoguo turned to the ginseng dealers, bowed slightly and smiled, "We also hope that you bosses will take good care of us."
The Zhao family often held meetings at home, and whenever Wang Meilan gave an "important" speech, enthusiastic applause was always required.
Over time, the members of Zhao's gang got used to it. As Wu Baoguo spoke, the members of Zhao's gang clasped their hands together in front of their chests several times.
But no one applauded until Wu Baoguo finished speaking.
As the Zhao family members put their hands down, Zhang Yuejin picked up where Wu Baoguo left off, saying, "I want 40-year-old ginseng, its quality is not a concern, preferably a damaged ginseng."
Upon hearing Zhang Yuejin's words, Zhao Jun pricked up his ears and looked around.
Since Zhang Yue came to the Ginseng King Conference and brought this up at the conference, there must be someone who can satisfy him.
At this time of year, having forty or fifty-year-old wild ginseng seedlings, even if they were dried, was something Zhao Jun hadn't even imagined.
Zhao Jun glanced to his left and right and immediately noticed something amiss. He saw that the stewards of the Shao family gang on the left and the Pang family gang on the right were both taking notes with notebooks and pens.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun recalled what Shao Tianpeng had said earlier and instantly understood that Zhang Yuejin didn't want the goods right now.
Instead, he places an order first and asks the ginseng foremen to keep an eye out for it. He plans to come back in October to buy ginseng from these foremen.
Realizing what was happening, Zhao Jun quickly gave Li Ruhai a wink. Li Ruhai, who had also figured it out, nodded in response to Zhao Jun and took out paper and pen from his breast pocket.
At this point, Zhang Yuejin continued, "I need twenty seedlings that are sixty or seventy years old. I don't need to check their appearance; even damaged ones will do."
Zhao Jun was unclear about Zhang Yuejin's specific methods, but when he heard that he didn't need to consider the quality of the ginseng and that it had to be damaged, it was undoubtedly meant to supply pharmaceutical factories and pharmacies.
As Zhang Yuejin finished speaking, the only sound in the vast second-floor space was the rustling of the writing from the various guild leaders.
Zhang Yuejin paused for two or three seconds, and after giving the managers time to take notes, he spoke again: "A hundred or eighty-year-old club, with any remaining ginseng, regardless of its quality, I want it all. And as many as there are, I want them all."
No sooner had Zhang Yuejin finished speaking than his arch-nemesis, Guo Dahuzi, immediately stood up.
The bearded man clasped his hands in a fist salute to the ginseng gang and said, "Gentlemen, I also want some ginseng that's a hundred or eighty years old."
After saying this, Guo Dahuzi glanced at Zhang Yuejin before continuing, "And no matter how much money Zhang Yuejin offers, I will still offer 20% more."
"Fuck you!" Zhang Yuejin cursed as soon as he was provoked, and at the same time, he stepped closer to Guo Dahuzi.
"Hey?" Wu Baoguo saw something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to stop Zhang Yuejin, saying, "Boss Zhang, don't be angry, don't be angry."
"Boss Zhang, what are you doing?" Song Da said to Zhang Yuejin, "Foreman Wu just said that even if the deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. Why are you cursing and hitting him?"
"Why are you always talking about me?" It was clear that Zhang Yuejin was a man of strong emotions. As soon as Song Da interrupted, he rushed over to Song Da.
At this moment, Zhang Yuejin pointed at Guo Dahuzi and said to Song Da, "I just said I would accept it, and he immediately offered more money. Would you be willing to do that?"
Zhang Yuejin's statement made sense. Song sighed and was about to say something when he heard Xu Qianli say, "If it's a ginseng that's a hundred or two hundred years old, I want it too!"
After saying this, Xu Qianli glanced at Zhang Yuejin and Guo Dahuzi and said, "If all else fails, we'll just swallow gold from our sleeves!"
"Hidden gold in the sleeve" is a traditional way of negotiating prices by putting one's hands in one's sleeve. When outsiders are present, in order to keep the price confidential and save face for both parties, the buyer and seller will usually put their hands in their sleeves and convey the price through specific gestures.
"What do you mean by 'hiding gold in one's sleeve'?" Guo the Bearded Man glanced at Xu Qianli disdainfully and said, "What are you talking about? Whoever gives more gets the club!"
"Are you three seriously ill?" Song Da's sudden question successfully drew angry stares from Zhang Yuejin, Xu Qianli, and Guo Dahuzi.
Then, Song Da said, "That stick hasn't even appeared yet, what are you all arguing about? Are you all crazy?"
The meeting had been going on for a few minutes, and apart from Wu Baoguo saying a few words, all I could hear were these so-called big bosses arguing.
Seeing that Shao Tianpeng and the others seemed unfazed, Zhao Jun figured this wasn't the first time such a scene had occurred.
Wherever there are people, there is conflict; wherever there are interests, there is struggle.
Every time the Ginseng King Conference is held, with ginseng on display, everyone who wants to buy ginseng wants to buy it at a low price and then resell it at a high price.
It's fine if you're the only buyer, but if there are several competitors around, it becomes quite troublesome.
Therefore, Zhao Jun estimated that the grudges between these people were no small matter. Just like Zhang Yuejin and Guo Dahuzi, their conflicts were all out in the open.
Xu Qianli and Song Da didn't seem like troublemakers either.
"Gentlemen," Wu Baoguo stepped forward to mediate, smiling, "We've finally gotten together, let's all be happy and not argue."
Song Da and the others gave the host some face. Seeing that the others were silent, Wu Baoguo said again, "These past few days, I've discussed it with Lao Shao, Lao Sun, and Lao Zhang. Everyone wants good stuff, so to avoid hurting feelings, let's just have a secret auction."
"A covert auction?" Song raised an eyebrow and asked, "Boss Wu, what do you mean by this?"
In the first three years of the Ginseng King Conference, general currency was traded freely, while top-quality wild ginseng was traded through competitive bidding, or auctions.
In that case, it would be suitable for ginseng guilds, but not for these ginseng dealers.
So when the Ginseng King Conference was held on June 1st of the fourth year, not a single ginseng dealer showed up.
Later, senior ginseng leaders such as Shao Tianpeng and Wu Baoguo sent their managers to talk to these ginseng dealers.
But in that negotiation, they were at a disadvantage. From then on, it became a free trade, which severely suppressed the price of ginseng.
Even so, the prices offered by ginseng dealers were still higher than those offered by purchasing stations. But aren't the ginseng traders toiling and suffering in the deep mountains and forests all for the sake of earning a little more money?
So, after another discussion, the old leaders came up with this solution.
Faced with Song Da and the others' questions, Wu Baoguo said, "We deal with bastards almost every day. We can tell how much something is worth just by looking at it."
"A blind auction" means that after the mallet has been inspected, each bidder writes down their desired price on a piece of paper. Once everyone has written it down, they all show their papers, and whoever writes the highest price gets the mallet.
Zhang Yuejin and the others understood what Wu Baoguo meant.
Before they could react, Wu Baoguo asked, "Gentlemen, how about we give it a try?"
Zhang Yuejin and the others were taken aback. Wu Baoguo waved to someone behind him, and Wei Songbo, the manager of the Wu family gang, stepped forward with a tray in his hands.
There was a red cloth bag on the tray. Wu Baoguo opened the red cloth bag and picked up a ginseng seedling from it.
This ginseng caught the attention of not only ginseng dealers but also the leaders of various ginseng gangs.
Although the ginseng was dried, it was quite large and looked heavy, with a beautiful skin, fine lines, clear whiskers, and pearl-like spots.
Surprisingly, this ginseng is served in a reed bowl.
The rhizome of a normal ginseng is composed of round rhizome, stacked flower rhizome, and horse tooth rhizome.
The rhizome of this ginseng is very compacted, with the round rhizome part piled up tightly. Upon closer inspection, you can see traces of the piled-up flower-shaped rhizome and the piled-up round rhizome. But above that, there is no piled-up flower-shaped rhizome; it's all horse-tooth rhizome, and they are all large horse-tooth rhizomes.
After displaying the ginseng, Wu Baoguo put it back on the tray and then gestured to Wei Songbo.
Wei Songbo carried a tray and started by showing the ginseng to the three Song brothers, then had several ginseng dealers inspect the ginseng.
After obtaining Wei Songbo's consent, Song Da reached out and pinched the root of the ginseng, holding it in front of him.
Although this ginseng is dried, it has a substantial weight to it. At this moment, Song Er whispered in Song Da's ear, "Brother, is this a fake?"
Song Da shook his head and put the ginseng back on the tray. Wei Songbo carried the tray to Zhang Yuejin and showed him the ginseng.
Zhang Yuejin read it, then Song Qianli read it, and then Guo Dahuzi read it.
After the four groups of ginseng dealers finished looking at the ginseng, Wu Baoguo waved his hand, signaling Wei Songbo to take the ginseng to the ginseng guild and present it to the leaders of each guild.
Wu Baoguo didn't intend for his fellow ginseng sellers to buy his ginseng; he just wanted to show it to everyone and exchange ideas, since this kind of ginseng is rare.
These people in the ginseng gang deal with ginseng every day, and they are also willing to study it. Perhaps, in their eyes, the wildness and diverse forms of wild ginseng are a special kind of beauty.
While the various ginseng groups were admiring their ginseng, Wu Baoguo asked Zhang Yuejin and the others with a smile, "Gentlemen, what do you think of my ginseng?"
“Okay!” Song Da nodded without hesitation and said, “This has been around for quite some time.”
"Hehe..." Wu Baoguo chuckled, looked at Zhang Yuejin and the others, and said, "Gentlemen, if you're interested, let's write down a price?"
As Wu Baoguo spoke, one of his men brought him paper and pen. He placed a pencil and a sheet of white paper in front of Guo Dahuzi and said with a smile, "Boss Guo, if you like it, we'll write down a price; if you don't, then forget it."
After saying that, Wu Baoguo changed the subject and said, "But let's make it clear first, the price we write down cannot be less than two thousand yuan. Less than two thousand is definitely not acceptable."
As he spoke, Wu Baoguo handed Xu Qianli a pen and paper.
After the four groups of ginseng dealers received paper and pens, they did not write down prices immediately, but instead secretly observed their competitors.
Instead of urging him, Wu Baoguo went over and started exchanging ideas with his colleagues.
When they arrived at the ginseng group, Wei Songbo didn't show each ginseng to everyone individually. Instead, he placed the tray in the middle, and everyone gathered around.
Although it was Huang Wenbin's first time attending the conference, Wei Songbo happened to place the exhibit in front of him.
Huang Wenbin held the ginseng root in his hand and examined it for a moment. Just as he put the ginseng down, Wu Baoguo came over. Huang Wenbin asked Wu Baoguo, "Wu, when this ginseng was first brought out, was it bulging when you squeezed it?"
"Yeah, it's bulging, but it feels heavy in your hand." Wu Baoguo replied with a smile, "It is bulging, but it feels heavy in your hand."
At this moment, Shao Tianpeng, who had picked up the ginseng, asked Zhao Jun and Shao Zhiqiang, who were beside him, to look at the ginseng together.
As Zhao Jun examined the ginseng, he overheard Wu Baoguo and Huang Wenbin's conversation. Zhao Jun knew they were right, and that if the ginseng were to be sliced now, every slice would be riddled with honeycomb-like holes.
But there's nothing wrong with this ginseng. Whether from the perspective of medicinal value or appearance, it's a good ginseng.
"Chief Wu." At this moment, Zhao Jun called out softly to Wu Baoguo and asked, "Can I also place a bid?"
"What?" Wu Baoguo was stunned, and the people around him also looked at Zhao Jun in surprise.
"Chief Zhao, you..." Wu Baoguo looked at Zhao Jun, not knowing what to say.
At this moment, Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Chief Wu, I like this ginseng at first sight. Can I also make an offer?"
"No?" Before Wu Baoguo could say anything after hearing Zhao Jun's words, Guo the Bearded Man stood up and shouted, "Boss Wu, his bid is no good! If he bids, isn't he just raising the price for you?"
"This... Mr. Guo, what kind of price are you raising?" Wu Baoguo said, "You guys aren't auctioning with open bids; you've written your own prices, and nobody else knows them. It's not like you're raising the price, right?"
“I think so too.” As soon as Wu Baoguo finished speaking, Shao Tianpeng chimed in, saying, “Zhao, the foreman, is a young man who likes to get involved in everything.”
If you ask me, Old Wu, why don't you get Zhao a piece of paper and a pen, and let him get involved?
“No, Mr. Shao,” Guo the Bearded Man questioned Shao Tianpeng’s words, saying, “If you let him get involved, and he follows suit, what if it falls into his hands? Would he really buy it?”
Hearing Guo Dahuzi's words, Zhao Jun chuckled, turned around and waved to Li Ruhai, who picked up the briefcase standing beside him.